Nottingham Forest have moved quickly to replace Nuno Espirito Santo with former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou.
Ange Postecoglou has been linked with the Nottingham Forest job for a few weeks, and now Evangelos Marinakis has made it official during the international break.
Forest fans aren’t convinced by the decision to appoint Postecoglou, however, there is an acceptance that Nuno wasn’t initially wanted by most.
There is reason to trust Marinakis and his chiefs after a productive four years since the Steve Cooper appointment in 2021.
Postecoglou will bring a much more fluid style, and there is one notable player who could flourish under the Australian head coach.
New Nottingham Forest signing Douglas Luiz
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Douglas Luiz could flourish under Ange Postecoglou
It emerged that Nuno didn’t actually want to sign Douglas Luiz, and that was clear when he made him an unused substitute in the Crystal Palace and West Ham United games.
Clearly, Douglas Luiz was an Edu signing and the Portuguese head coach was keen to make a point by refusing to utilise him.
Under Postecoglou, Luiz is expected to be a key player as the team transitions to a possession-based approach.
MORE FOREST STORIES
The former Juventus midfielder has been developed as a deep-lying playmaker but can also operate as an eight.
Postecoglou could partner him in midfield with Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White as the more advanced of the three.
Ibrahim Sangare expected to drop out
Indeed, with Luiz expected to become a mainstay in Postecoglou’s starting line-ups, that means Ibrahim Sangare will be dropped to the bench.
Sangare produced a stellar performance against Brentford in the opening match of the season, so it does feel extremely harsh.
But his ability on the ball just won’t suit Postecoglou’s passing football, at least, not more so than Luiz, who was schooled at Manchester City.
Sangare will still play his fair share of minutes in the various cup competitions and will likely be trusted in the early stages of the Europa League.